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My nephew and his wife worked with builder on a new home. Builder in a new neighborhood of all new homes that they built. Nephew picked out floor plan and what ever else you normally do. He did however did some add on himself, some extra wiring for speakers, cable, phone Jack's, whatever else. Also is a HVAC guy so had it setup to install unit himself (purchased at cost from his employer) did get it worked out with builder. Anyway house passed all inspections from the county and whoever else. They did find out the inspector was a "friend" and possibly overlooked some things but who knows, maybe just a hack.
Apparently sodding was not included but they had to do it in spring, closed on house in winter. Spring comes and nephew thinks dirt is to high around house so calls builder saying yard was not graded properly (in Minnesota so grading hard to see in winter) Builder comes out to look while they are not home and calls and tells them it's fine. Nephew calls a few more times to no avail so he get BIL to come out with his bobcat and pull some dirt back and grade the yard better so water drains away properly, also so sod will not be up against siding of house. Nephew then notices that the sump pump has really been running a lot since full spring melt, like constant, all the time, day and night. If it's turned off it the pit fills up in minutes, now has two pumps in pit incase one fails. Calls builders, they speak with them about issue. Never resolved, pump still running. His wife calls to complain and says you (builder) would not come and do anything so we had to take matters into our own hands to regrade yard,... oops. Wife has now "confessed to messing with grading".
Get real-estate lawyer, go to arbitration, new independent inspector says house built too low, 100,000 fix for a 165,000 home. The fix as was described to me would make house look wrong, really strange looking fix. Builder says but we have a voice recording of wife saying they regrading yard themselves, no record of constant phone calls (nephew didn't send requests for fix in writing) to builder to fix things. Three years later still in arbitration, nothing fixed, pump running, wouldn't be able to sell home with its problems. I don't know what they are going to do yet. Of course the builders representative is saying because nephew messed with grading it's all their fault, "we have it recorded that they did confess to this".
Get inspector independent of builder. Do you have have a realtor representing you, if not maybe call and get a real estate lawyer to advise you, may end up being a cheap fix for a potential expensive mistake. I was clueless when I bought our home and bought through realtor representative the builder, luckily things were OK. But if I knew then what I know now I would have had some kind of representative looking out for me independent of builder.
I think the house is just sitting on a extremely high water table, house is split level so not a deep basement. I wonder if they do some kind of testing to see where water table is?
Last edited by Izzie1213; 02-14-2018 at 10:54 AM..
Most builders in Texas will not allow an inspector in the house without showing a $2M insurance policy.Inspectors needs to be licensed and bonded. Your General Contractor does not need such a license. The builder will probably not allow your GC to inspect the house as many issues can happen. If you plan on taking a GC, make sure you have prior approval, IN WRITING, from the builder.
Where did you get that from? Yes builders are throwing up roadblocks to prevent their buyers from having their own Third Party Inspector but I have not heard of these requirements.
What kind of issues can any competent Inspector or GC cause to a new home if they properly perform their job?
I am currently waiting on my builder to finish building a house (new construction) for which we signed a contract a few months back. The builder will be using a third party to perform the final inspection on the house and has promised to provide me with the inspection report. He also has a final walk through with us in a few weeks from now. This is our first home so I am very ignorant of how things should be done and always second guessing my decisions.
Every new construction phase inspections, from concrete pre-pour to the final, that I have done has always had the Builder's Third Party Inspection performed. I have also seen many significant deficiencies after these Builder Third Party Inspections were supposedly performed. The Builder's Inspector works for the Builder and not you. If they all did their jobs right then they would not be getting much business from the Builders!
I am now conflicted on the inspection part. Few of my friends who have previously bought homes are suggesting to hold off on inspections now and have it done at the 11th month before the warranty expires. Some of them insist on getting one done before closing and skipping the warranty inspection during the 11th month. And the final few are suggesting I have both inspections done.
It would have been to your benefit to have the phase inspections as well but that is not possible now. If you want to skimp do it by not performing the 1 Year Warranty Inspection but NEVER skip the final inspection!! Your builder warranty is not what you think it will be! You need to know now if there are any issues that require repair. Once you take possession your builder WILL NOT cover "wear and tear" and many issues at closing may be called "wear and tear" at the 1 Year warranty point.
Another item that is not typically covered under warranty are homeowner required maintenance items. Something as simple as poorly caulked joints of window frames to brick/siding or poorly caulked siding points can result in water damage in a years time very easily. Caulking is a homeowner normal maintenance item.
These are just two examples of why you should not forego the final inspection. Put the builder on the hook to provide a properly built and finished home and your best chance for doing that is before closing!
After all my research, I do not want to skip on the final warranty inspection during the 11th month just before warranty expires.
If you have a thorough final home inspection, by a competent Inspector, and you have the builder fix the issues found, then you may not need a 1 year warranty inspection. Hopefully your chosen Inspector also offers follow on support in the event you do see or experience issues.
If you do not have a though final home inspection before closing, or it was performed by an Inspector whose competency you suspect then by all means plan for and have a 1 year warranty inspection.
One of my neighbors is a licensed general contractor and is willing to walk through the house with me before my final walk through and point out the deficiencies that he sees so that I can skip on the inspection before closing and have one done at the end of the warranty period. My thinking is that the general contractor would have more insights to where builders might cut corners when building homes and having someone from the same trade look at the house would be a good approach. What are your thoughts about it ? Do you think a inspection is mandatory before closing or would having the contractor look at it suffice ?
Texas Inspectors are required to carry Errors & Omissions insurance in the event they miss something they should have caught. Does your GC Neighbor carry E&O to protect you if he/she misses something? Are you willing to enter a confrontation with your GC Neighbor if you find something significant they missed in their quick walk through with you?
Also, I would like to get some general idea about Highland Homes in Texas (Houston/Spring) area. How are they in terms of general build quality, responding to warranty requests and post closing questions.
With regards to build quality even the reported best Builders can build a crappy home just as the reported worst Builders can build a very nice home. The quality of your build is highly dependent on the Building Supervisor who oversaw the build process. BTW that little bit of information comes from experience with it and seeing it.
Where did you get that from? Yes builders are throwing up roadblocks to prevent their buyers from having their own Third Party Inspector but I have not heard of these requirements.
What kind of issues can any competent Inspector or GC cause to a new home if they properly perform their job?
I've been a Realtor for almost 18 years and have sold in both the Dallas market and the Austin market. It's a constant roadblock that builders have put up. Many inspectors are used to it, so they have the insurance readily available. The ones that don't do new construction inspections very often are the ones who throw a fit about it because many only hold a $1M policy.
Where did I get it? It's from everyday being in the business with my clients. No magic document online that states it. It's having experience with the new construction buyers.
What can go wrong? MANY things. One inspector slipped in the attic and put a huge body-size hole in the ceiling of my client's Gameroom. Umm, who's paying for that? There are lots of things that can go wrong, and do go wrong, just like in a pre-owned house. The inspector needs to be able to afford to put that house back in its warrantable condition for the builder to warranty work for the new buyer.
I've built new twice and did not get an inspector for neither time. I didn't feel it was necessary as each builder we used gave us warranties. They came in 3 months after close and at once year after close to fix and issues that may arise such as nail pops, floor creeks, etc. We had one issue where the foundation settled and it caused our bedroom door to not stay shut. This was in between or 3 month and one year warranty repairs. The builder gave us no problem coming out to fix the door. I also have a 5 year roof warranty and a 10 year structural.
I've built new twice and did not get an inspector for neither time. I didn't feel it was necessary as each builder we used gave us warranties. They came in 3 months after close and at once year after close to fix and issues that may arise such as nail pops, floor creeks, etc. We had one issue where the foundation settled and it caused our bedroom door to not stay shut. This was in between or 3 month and one year warranty repairs. The builder gave us no problem coming out to fix the door. I also have a 5 year roof warranty and a 10 year structural.
I also bought two new homes over the years - the first one was not inspected. Cracked sewer line, wrong placement of the perimeter drain & faulty GFCI outlet in the kitchen would have been caught. This cost the builder about $60,000. I fixed the GFCI myself. I lost all the food in the fridge and I was making coffee in the bathroom.
The second house was inspection several times. The builder resolved every issue before we moved in and there was no inconvenience factor. No house is perfect.
I've been a Realtor for almost 18 years and have sold in both the Dallas market and the Austin market. It's a constant roadblock that builders have put up. Many inspectors are used to it, so they have the insurance readily available. The ones that don't do new construction inspections very often are the ones who throw a fit about it because many only hold a $1M policy.
I've yet to hear a $2 Million requirement on insurance yet even for some of the luxury homes I've inspected. That must be an Austin thing. As for the $1 Million policy that's quite ridiculous as no Inspector who knows what they are doing and has a brain would ever do anywhere near that damage to a home of their own fault (excluding issues caused by construction defects). Intelligent Inspectors don't throw a fit about anything but instead just don't bother with the ridiculous builder requirements.
Where did I get it? It's from everyday being in the business with my clients. No magic document online that states it. It's having experience with the new construction buyers.
What can go wrong? MANY things. One inspector slipped in the attic and put a huge body-size hole in the ceiling of my client's Gameroom. Umm, who's paying for that?
As for the Inspector who "slipped in the attic and put a huge body-size hole in the ceiling of my client's Gameroom" he/she needs to find another line of work! Hopefully you're not still using that Inspector? New homes generally have on the order of 14"+ of insulation laid out on the horizontal surfaces. That's WAY deeper than any joist and makes the joists completely covered, not visible, and certainly not safe to try walking. If that Inspector was wading through insulation to find joists to step on then he/she already did damage by disrupting the insulation. Quite frankly that's unsafe, dumb, and an insurance payout waiting to happen!
There are lots of things that can go wrong, and do go wrong, just like in a pre-owned house.
I would be interested in hearing some of these. The majority of the ones I heard about were dumb moves by the Inspector who learned their lesson. None I've heard of ever required $2 Million in insurance to correct. A little ironic that a builder that builds a Home way less than $2 Million would want that much insurance.
In my 14 years of inspecting I've only had two instances of damage and both were backing screws out of a electric panel dead front cover when they stripped a wire and shorted. Notice I said backing them out and not putting them in. Both times when the panels were opened they were a rats nest inside and these were new construction where the Builder's own Third Party Inspector should have caught and written them up before I even got there!
Do you feel that any Inspector should be held accountable for damage caused by builder defects on new homes, or systems that just "failed while testing" on existing homes?
The inspector needs to be able to afford to put that house back in its warrantable condition for the builder to warranty work for the new buyer.
Again the $2 Million General Liability insurance requirement is just another roadblock the builders are putting up so consumers lose out on choosing their own Inspector or even having an inspection in the first place. There is even a builder here that has a list of approved Inspectors (ones they approve of) that are the only ones the buyer is allowed to choose from. We can all guess accurately why they are "approved" by the Builder.
Thoughts and questions in blue above. You also mentioned "Bonded". What kind of "Bond" are they requiring in the Austin area?
BTW 90% of my business last year was new construction from ground breaking to final inspection in phases. I've seen so much crap building over the years I would never build new without having it inspected. I would never trust a Builder's Third Party Inspection report in lieu of my own Inspectors report.
Thoughts and questions in blue above. You also mentioned "Bonded". What kind of "Bond" are they requiring in the Austin area?
BTW 90% of my business last year was new construction from ground breaking to final inspection in phases. I've seen so much crap building over the years I would never build new without having it inspected. I would never trust a Builder's Third Party Inspection report in lieu of my own Inspectors report.
It's not just an Austin thing, as I worked in the Dallas market for several years, having lived there for 25 years. I even spoke with an inspector in Tyler last week who has 18 inspectors that work under him, and he even has $2M coverage as it came up in our discussions. He inspects a lot of new construction.
I can't think of any inspectors who would only carry $100k policy, as that's the minimum Texas allows. What happens when an inspector oops, leaves on the gas burner or trips something electrical, or anything egregious like that, and then the house burns down. You think the house can be rebuilt with a mere $100k?
It's not just an Austin thing, as I worked in the Dallas market for several years, having lived there for 25 years. I even spoke with an inspector in Tyler last week who has 18 inspectors that work under him, and he even has $2M coverage as it came up in our discussions. He inspects a lot of new construction.
I can't think of any inspectors who would only carry $100k policy, as that's the minimum Texas allows. What happens when an inspector oops, leaves on the gas burner or trips something electrical, or anything egregious like that, and then the house burns down. You think the house can be rebuilt with a mere $100k?
You seem to be mistaking the E&O insurance for General Liability (GL) insurance. E&O insurance is mandatory for Inspectors in a minimum amount of $100K. E&O does not pay for any physical damage to a property and is only there to pay for the mistakes of missing an issue, improperly reporting an issue, or other similar actions.
GL is the insurance that pays for physical damage to the property as you are describing here. GL is not required at all in Texas although many of us Inspectors do carry GL insurance for our own protection. Generally we carry them in much higher amounts than $100K. However these builders that demand Inspectors carry $2 Million in GL insurance for a $400K house are only doing that to prevent buyers from having inspections.
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